TNJ’s 14th annual class of  “40 Under Forty” high achievers reflects the rich diversity of the country’s Black community: African, African-American, Caribbean-American, Afro-Hispanic and Afro-European. The presence of nine entrepreneurs among them is worth noting.

 U.S. consumer sentiment improved in early May, as optimism about jobs eased the pain of high gasoline and food prices. Economists were less optimistic about the country’s growth prospects, but they were slightly more upbeat about the job market. Their projected drop in the nationwide unemployment rate, however, obscures a depressing outlook for African-Americans, whose jobless rate remains double that of the national average. TNJ queried noted experts about prospects for Black employment, income, poverty and entrepreneurship. Here are their responses:

An entrepreneur wrote to me about an online business he started last year. “We’ve had an amazing run so far, with more than 10,000 unique hits every day on our Web site and a 30 percent gross profit margin on sales of more than $250,000 in our first year.

 As 2011 reaches the midway point, reality has set in on many of the enthusiastic promises made by gadget and gizmo makers in the euphoria of New Year’s Day celebrations. While many of the products and technologies unveiled at January’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas are now dazzling users worldwide, others may never make it past the prototypes made for the show. Some products, like 3D HDTVs, have received lukewarm public acceptance, but others, like Apple’s iPad 2 tablet, have become standard-bearers.

So you want to start an electronics business in supercompetitive New York City. First order of business? Check your sanity. Second task? Find a niche. And it doesn’t hurt if you can find some truly interesting products.

 If you’re waiting for your yearly vacation to unwind, you’re waiting too long. It’s far more effective to recharge as you go, according to psychologist Suzanne Zoglio, author of Recharge in Minutes: The Quick-Lift Way to Less Stress, More Success, and Renewed Energy! (Tower Hill Press).